On the bumpy saddle towards success: Romanian mountain and road bike women’s champion shares the meaning of her achievements in a rather uncharted world

Just days after the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes, the biggest women’s road cycling event, Manuela Mureșan received an invitation to one of the other Top 3 races in the world, the Spanish La Vuelta. Starting her biking adventure when she was 31, training on the dangerous Romanian roads and dodging past several stray dogs, she could be an inspiration for any sportsperson.

Former mountain triathlete, now Elite mountain and road cyclist, Manuela (Ela) has finished her morning training and just unmounted her black Bianchi Specialissima, which does not happen frequently. On April 30, 2015, she decided to buy a mountain bike, ready for a quick 40 km spin with her husband, Florin. It was her first proper ride when she purposefully cut into a road curb and instantly fell off. “I did not stop there. I kept on going and, since then, I have been spending most of my time on the bike,” says Ella.